Heavy Rain
by Leaf Babe
Summary: When hailing from a different village, the pressure of being a shinobi in Konoha will bear down with twice as much force than that of its' natural born citizens. That's why Sakura knew that being weak just wasn't an option.
1. Chapter 1

It was dark.

It was the kind of dark that Sakura Haruno only saw after waking up from a nightmare, a stingy black that made it difficult for her to distinguish her pale little hands even if she was holding them right in front of her face. her parents never let her stay up this late, 6 o'clock was bed time and she had never questioned it. So, it was a bit of treat for the little pink haired girl to see this odd darkness, it was a rare occurrence after all.

Wide jade eyes stared down with childish curiosity as she wiggled her chubby fingers in the thick black of her family's kitchen, she could hardly see them! How strange. Usually she could, but she supposed that's because the sun was out and shining; or at least it was out in a way. Like when it peaked through the thick rain clouds that persistently assaulted the skies overhead.

Suddenly, the young girl was snapped from her curious finger wiggling as a bony hand grasped her own, her head twisted upwards to see her fair-haired mother in all her rumpled glory.

"Sakura, quickly!" Mebuki Haruno said sharply as she began tugging her along with urgency.

Sakura huffed loudly as she was manhandled into following her mother to the front of the household, her small feet tripped and stumbled over each other in the darkness and the pink haired girl could feel frustration rearing its ugly head. It was as if her mother was oblivious to the fact that the small girl's stump legs couldn't carry her fast enough to keep up with the elder's longer stride.

The young girl squirmed in he grip of her Mother's trembling palms. They were slick with sweat and she wanted to pry herself out of the clammy hand but stopped herself when she noticed the way her Mother glanced back with a crease in her brow and facial expression she hadn't seen on her mother's pretty face before. It was an unrecognized emotion to the young girl, but her gut feeling told her it wasn't pleasant. The thought made Sakura's cherub lips dip into a frown, but she said nothing and continued to follow after her mother.

A moment later the tugging came to a halt and the two Harunos stood in the hallway that connected the rest of the household to its only exit. Stationed in front of the door was Kizashi Haruno, his withered knees shook and clanked together as he held onto the door knob with his face scrunched into anticipation.

Sakura looked on at the scene with mild confusion. Were they going outside? The young pinkette had yet to go outside, she had lived quite a sheltered life. The plain little house and its white walls and dirty floors were her entire world, she could only ever dream of ever going outside. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as giddiness built up at the thought of leaving the enclosure the young girl was so used to.

"K-kizashi… are we sure we want to go through with this… if one of Pein's men catches us trying to leave the country…" Mebuki trailed off leaving a sense of dread as her unspoken words echoed off the empty walls of the hallway.

_We'll be killed._

Kizashi swallowed shakily and glanced back at his wife and daughter, he trembled pitifully but his eyes shone with an unbreakable resolve. "Mebuki, we must. If we want to live a better life, if we want _Sakura_ to live a better life, we must go."

She nodded mutely at his words.

Abruptly, Kizashi's posture straightened and he gazed at the doorknob he gripped tightly.

"We can't allow Sakura to make contact with the rain, it's a priority that she stays dry," He began in a strong voice, "there is a chance that Pein doesn't know that she's in Ame with us since she has never stepped foot from this house."

He tilted his head to make eye contact with his wife. Their gazes met with a level of understanding and again, she nodded at her husband's words.

"I understand." Her deep frown lines softened as acceptance dawned.

There was no going back.

_A/N: um yeah, so. I'm actually planning on working on this story instead of abandoning it so please appreciate this prologue I'm still working out where I want to go from this so ya, but Sakura's character is gonna be mostly the same as the manga/anime so im not gonna make this ooc like other stories. I'm not really sure if I'm gonna give her romance but if I do it's not gonna be very noticeable, so ya basically._


	2. Chapter 2

The rain, Sakura realized, was never ending. Well, she knew that it never ended after about six years of looking out a window; but she thought that maybe beyond her quaint home's doors, the rain would cease. She thought that beyond the doors, she would be able to see the sunlight that was always so desperately trying to claw its way out of the thick clouds overhead, but she was wrong. The rain went on and on, its soft patter on the muddied ground was all she could hear other than her own breathing. She could hardly even hear the short puffs of breath from her father, whose back she clung to with all her childish might.

Jade eyes squinted as the pinkette peered over her father's shoulder, the thick rain made it difficult to see more than a few meters ahead, and it frustrated the young girl that everything outside was so boring. All she's seen so far were rocks, mud, and more rocks. She'd expected something a little more exotic, like a massive ocean, with lots of fish and sea creatures that she could stare at and observe all day, or a vast field of flowers with more colors then she could name. Yet to her disappointment, the outside world wasn't exactly what it was like in all the stories her parents had told her.

She huffed and settled her chin into her father's shoulder, tightening her hold around his collar. He glanced her way and sent a weak smile. Silently he shifted her on his back to help ensure her safety under the dryness of the umbrella.

Absently, she wondered what the rain felt like, she had yet to feel its' wet caress. Did it feel like the water she used at bath time? Or was it something entirely new, and foreign? Her pink eyebrows knitted together thoughtfully at her ponderings. Maybe feeling the rain could bring upon the new feeling she's been searching for. Albeit, maybe a little small scale compared to what she had imagined, but something interesting none the less.

In a casual manner, the young girl stretched out her pale arm, slowly edging it towards the wet droplets that fell just outside the perimeter of the umbrella. She almost had it-

"Sakura!" Mebuki's sharp voice snapped.

Sakura quickly retracted her arm and flinched at her mother's harsh tone.

"Never touch the rain! Do I make myself clear?" Pink locks bounced as the Sakura bobbed her head vigorously at her mother's words.

Mebuki stared hard at her daughter and tightened the grip around her umbrella until her knuckle's turned white from the strain; just being _out _in this accursed rain was a risk to their lives.

Pein was ruthless; he would not spare a few measly civilians who went against his orders. He had made it clear that no one was to leave the country unless told to do so, failing to follow these directions would result in death. Yet, being civilians may be their saving grace. The two elder Haruno's theorized that they may be overlooked due to their weak stature. Pein was leader of Amegakure, why on earth would he waste his time on a few civilians who can't even fight back?

Mebuki let out a harsh breath. Even if this didn't work, even if Kizashi and herself died, there was a chance that Sakura could escape from this raining hell. Pein's rain hadn't ever touched her, meaning that he hadn't had the chance to sense her chakra. It was as if she was a stowaway, no one, not even Pein, new of her existence in Ame.

At least she hoped.

* * *

Hours trickled by as the family of three trudged on through the rain soaked land, their weariness was bone deep, and they only took shelter in an open mouthed cut out in the side of a cliff when a sleep deprived Sakura nearly slipped out of the piggy-back hold her father had on her.

With the little supplies they had, the Haruno's had a meager campsite at best. It consisted of three blankets and a small container that held a few energy bars and a water pouch that Kizashi took upon himself to pass around after having his fill of the substance.

Sakura frowned at the less then comfortable conditions that she found herself and her parents settled in. The hard ground hurt her rear when she sat on it and if she tried sitting on her legs she found that small rocks would dig into her skin. She couldn't even imagine trying to _sleep_ on the rock ridden surface; her small body ached just thinking about it.

So far, all of her fantasies about the outside world had been crushed by the harsh reality that in the real world, everything was dank, dreary, and none too pleasant. She found that she'd much rather be home, where she wouldn't have to sleep on the cold hard ground.

Sakura's cherub lips twisted in disdain as her mother passed her the water container. This tiring trip was much more than she had bargained for, not that she had really bargained in the first place; she had just been dragged along.

"Mommy, when are we going home?" Sakura asked with a pout.

Mebuki froze at the question, her eyebrows furrowed as she quickly glanced over at Kizashi whose face melted into a soft kind of misery. They saw this coming, but they just hadn't expected the question to come so soon.

"Sakura…" a pregnant pause filled the cavern as Mebuki faltered, "We're not going back home…We're going to find a new one."

The corner of her lips quirked downward as she saw jade eyes beginning to gloss over with tears, it made her strained heart ache with a newfound sadness. In two strides she filled the space between herself and her daughter and she grasped onto the small girl like a life line, enveloping her with thin arms.

"I know sweetie… I don't like it either, but trust me it's for the best. Where we're going, the will be sun out and shining all the time, I know you'll love it." She cooed softy in the pinkettes ear as she held her close.

Sakura sniveled into her mother's chest as her heart fell into her stomach. How could they just… leave? That was their home… and they were just leaving like she hadn't spent every waking moment for six whole years growing up in that very house.

"Mommy… I don't want a new home… I liked the one we had! It was ours!" Sakura moaned. Her little body shook with a wave of sobs at the thought of never going back to her safe haven.

Kizashi released a sigh at his daughter's wailing. Suddenly he was very glad that they didn't tell her what they were planning beforehand. If they had told her back at the now abandoned house, they would have never been able to get her out without having some child sized teeth marks marring their bodies.

He cringed inwardly at the thought.

Another loud wave of sobs stole his attention and he refocused onto the emotional toddler at hand.

"Sakura, look at me." Kizashi said sternly.

The little girl's tear streaked face disconnected itself from her mother's chest and puffy red eyes directed themselves at his form.

"This is for the best." Layers of conviction unfolded as the words slipped off his tongue and Sakura whimpered quietly.

As if approaching a wild animal, Kizashi moved slowly over to the young girl, and placed his large hand on her head and ruffled her pink locks affectionately.

"Wherever your family is, your home is... so don't feel sad, Sakura, because you never left home."

Sakura sniffed loudly at his words and yet again nuzzled her head into her mother's chest.

"I love you guys…" Her words were muffled but audible and subtle smiles made themselves known on her parent's faces.

"We love you too, Sakura." Mebuki said as she tightened her hug.

_**A/N:**__ Wassup okay so I promise things will move a bit quicker in the next chapter but I wanted to do a build-up I guess. Also in case you guys didn't pick up on it she six rn. Anyway thank you for reading! Feel free to leave a review, tell me what you think!_


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